Baptism of Our Lord
Mt 3:13-17
1/11/26
On Tuesday we entered into the season of Epiphany as we celebrated
how the magi were first prompted by a star, and then later followed the star to
see the Christ. The word “epiphany” is based on a Greek word that means “to
appear.” During Advent prepared to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. At
Christmas we rejoiced in how God sent his Son into the world as the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us. Now in
Epiphany we consider how the incarnate Son of God began to reveal is saving
glory.
On this Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, our Gospel lesson tells
about the baptism of Jesus. This is a good place to begin during Epiphany
because the baptism of Jesus marks the start of our Lord’s ministry. It is the
beginning of God’s salvation appearing in Jesus Christ. It is the first step, and in this case the
first step determines all the rest.
Matthew begins this section of the Gospel by saying, “In those
days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” John showed up in the
wilderness and he called upon all to repent. He said this was necessary because
the kingdom of heaven – the reign of God – was about to arrive. He announced that God was about to carry out
his end time action. This would mean salvation for God’s people, and judgment
for sinners. All people needed to confess their sin and turn in faith toward
God in preparation for it.
As I have mentioned in the past, John did something unique –
something no one had seen before. He baptized people. John specifically identified the act of
receiving his baptism with repentance. He said, “I baptize you with
water for repentance.” By receiving John’s baptism, people demonstrated
their repentance and faith in God as they looked for his reign to arrive.
Matthew tells us, “Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the
Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins.”
The baptism of John is the last place we would expect to find
Jesus. After all, the angel Gabriel had told Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come
upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore
the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God.” Jesus Christ is the holy Son of God. True God and true man, he committed no sin.
Yet now he comes to receives a baptism of repentance.
Our Gospel lesson begins with the words: “Then Jesus came from
Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.” John clearly did not
understand this. In fact, Matthew tells
us that John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you,
and do you come to me?”
However, Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Each of them had a role to
play. John was the baptizer. Jesus was there to receive John’s baptism.
And this was necessary to fulfill all righteousness.
Righteousness is an interesting word in the Scriptures. As we
mentioned in Bible class last Sunday, it can mean doing what is according to
God’s will – doing what God says is right. But it is also used to refer to
God’s saving action. For example, in Psalm 98 we hear: “The Lord has made known his salvation; he
has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.” And that
is the meaning that we have here. Jesus was saying that his baptism was part of
God’s end time saving action.
John consented and baptized Jesus.
Next Matthew tells us, “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up
from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved
Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
After Jesus’ baptism two things
happened. First, the heavens were opened to Jesus. This is language that in
Scripture describes divine revelation. He saw the Spirit descend like a dove
and come to rest upon him. Second, God the Father spoke saying, “This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Together these two things left
no doubt about what was happening.
In Isaiah chapter 42 Yahweh had said,
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul
delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice
to the nations.” The Father’s words draw upon this verse as he carries out the
very action of placing his Spirit upon Jesus. God identifies Jesus as the
Servant of the Lord.
Jesus the sinless Son of God begins
his ministry by submitting to a baptism of repentance. He goes to a baptism in
which everyone else is confessing their sins.
He does so because he enters the water in order to take our sins upon
himself. Isaiah said of the Servant in
chapter 53, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to
his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Jesus’ baptism is the first step of
his public ministry. It is the first
step that determines all the rest. He enters the water of his baptism in order
to take on the role of the One who will bear our sins. He does so because we are not holy. We
are people who do not trust God to guide our lives. We do not put God and his
Means of Grace first. We put ourselves before our spouse, and speak angry words
when called out on this. We lust, and covet, and hate.
Jesus does none of these things. But
he takes them as if they were his own. From the moment of his baptism our
Lord’s entire ministry was directed towards one moment. It was directed towards
his crucifixion on Good Friday. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of the living God. Then Matthew tells us: “From that time Jesus began to
show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many
things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and
on the third day be raised.”
On the cross, Christ fulfilled the
words of Isaiah, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for
our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his wounds we are healed.” God condemned our sin in the flesh of Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus died in order to
redeem us from sin – to free us from it. Paul told the Ephesians that “in him
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses.”
The baptism of Jesus fulfilled Isaiah
chapter 42. But that was not all. At Nazareth Jesus himself said that he was
the fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 61 in which the prophet wrote, “The Spirit of
the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good
news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are
bound.”
Jesus was anointed with the Spirit at
his baptism to bring the good news of more than just freedom from sin. He came
to open the prison of death itself. Sin brings death. It did for Adam. And it has for everyone since.
In Luke’s Gospel immediately after
telling about the baptism of Jesus, he provides a genealogy of the Lord. It is
a genealogy that ends with: “the son of Adam, the son of God.” Jesus is the
second Adam who came to reverse all that occurred because of the first one.
Adam’s sin brought death. Jesus died
to win forgiveness for us. And then on third day God raised Jesus from the
dead. He rose with a body transformed so that it can never die again. He rose
as the beginning of the resurrection that will be ours on the Last Day. St.
Paul told the Corinthians, “For as by a man came death, by a man has
come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in
Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”
John the Baptist began the practice of
baptism. Jesus received John’s baptism as he fulfilled all righteousness – as
he carried out the end time saving action of God. That saving action was
accomplished by his death and resurrection. And then Jesus transformed baptism
into the means by which he delivers the salvation that he has won. The risen
Lord told the disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you.”
Jesus was baptized in order to die.
Now through baptism we share in his saving death. Paul told the Romans, “Do you
not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into
death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Your sins are
forgiven because you have been joined to Christ’s death through baptism. Notice
that Paul says that something actually happened in baptism. You were
baptized into Christ. You were baptized into his death. You were buried with
him.
Jesus is about more than death, and so
baptism is as well. The Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism, and in this
we see that baptism is the source of Christ’s Spirit in our lives. Jesus told
Nicodemus that a person must be born again – born from above – to see the
kingdom of God. Then he added, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
Through the water and the Word of
baptism the Spirit creates new spiritual life. Paul told Timothy that baptism
is “the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” It is the continuing source of the Spirit’s
work in our life and that is why Paul can say of baptism, “We were buried
therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ
was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk
in newness of life.”
The Spirit of God who raised Jesus
from dead dwells in you through baptism. Paul told the Romans, “If the Spirit
of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ
Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through
his Spirit who dwells in you.” The resurrection power of the Spirit is at work
in you because you are the baptized child of God.
And this leads us back to that first
meaning of righteousness that I mentioned earlier: doing what is
according to God’s will – doing what God says is right. You have received the
righteousness of God – the saving work of God in Christ. So now through the
work of the Spirit, seek to live in righteousness. Walk in newness of life. Paul put it this way to the Romans, “I appeal
to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is
the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
So, help and support your spouse, putting his or her needs ahead of
your own. Obey your parents and listen to their guidance. Work as unto the Lord
and not unto man in your vocation – giving your best effort because it helps
your neighbor. Forgive others, as you have been forgiven in Christ.
Today we see that the baptism of Jesus marks the start of our
Lord’s ministry. It is the beginning of God’s salvation appearing in Jesus
Christ. It is the first step – the first
step that determined all the rest in his death and resurrection. Now through baptism you have received the
salvation that Christ has won. His Spirit enables you to walk in the ways of
the Lord – the same Spirit by whom he will raise our bodies from the dead on
the Last Day.
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